Jackson County GOP dinner featured Jan. 6 rioters as special guests
The Jackson County GOP hosted several surprise guests at its Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner on Saturday: individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The event, a sold-out dinner at the Elks Lodge in Blue Springs, featured U.S. Rep. Mark Alford and other Kansas City-area Republicans. But the eight defendants from the Jan. 6 riot were featured as the “special surprise guests,” according to promotional material.
The Star confirmed their attendance with one of the defendants after reviewing social media posts from the event, including a Facebook post by Missouri state Sen. Joe Nicola, a Grain Valley Republican. Nicola, in his post, said the defendants’ “testimonies of courage and bravery was unforgettable.”
But the county party’s decision to celebrate those involved with the Jan. 6 riot has drawn criticism or raised eyebrows among individuals of both parties contacted by The Star.
Missouri House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican who did not attend the event, said in an interview with The Star that the Jackson County Republican Party, sometimes called a central committee, “is nothing like” the Republicans he knows in eastern Jackson County.
After the interview, Patterson sent The Star a statement.
“They’re a bunch of people who get together in their echo chamber and stew in their grievances,” he said. “I’m not surprised to hear these people were their guests.”
Tyler McCall, executive director of the Jackson County Democratic Party, also criticized the event.
“We all watched ourselves — what is it, four years ago now? — what went down on Jan. 6,” McCall said. “And we can try to rewrite history all we want, but that was a sad day in American history, and I think celebrating it is not exactly the right course.”
Four of those who attended the event served prison time in connection with the Capitol riot, including two who the government said were members of the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys. The organization of self-described “Western chauvinists” known for street-level violence and confrontations with anti-fascists at protests received national attention during a 2020 presidential debate when President Donald Trump told them to “stand back and stand by.”
All Jan. 6 defendants were cleared when President Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration granted clemency to the more than 1,500 charged in the riot. The order included full pardons of those already sentenced, commutations of sentences of 14 Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and the dismissal of all pending cases.
Jackson County GOP President John Butler and Vice Chair Dawn Wright did not return calls for comment on Thursday. Nicola also did not answer a call.
But the county party’s Facebook page shared Nicola’s post about the Jan. 6 guests on Sunday.
“Thank you to the Jackson County Republican Central Committee for an incredible event last night!” he said. “They did a fantastic job with every detail and it was a wonderful evening full of great fellowship, food and inspirational speakers.
“Hearing from the J6 Americans was a stark reminder of why our participation in government is no longer optional. Their testimonies of courage and bravery was unforgettable.”
William Barry, an Alford spokesperson, said in a statement to The Star that no one “on our team was made aware of the identity of any surprise special guests” at the event.
The Star spoke with Will Pope, of Topeka, who represented himself in his Jan. 6 case and became a folk hero of sorts among many defendants over his outspokenness and sometimes unconventional court filings. Pope told The Star on Wednesday that the Jackson County GOP leadership invited them to come. Afterward, they posed for a group photo.
“I thought it was a good event,” Pope said. “It was very positive.”
Pope said all eight of the so-called J6ers addressed the crowd.
“They gave us a set amount of time, and I wanted to make sure everybody at least got to speak for a couple (of) minutes,” he said.
No one voiced concerns about the J6ers’ presence, Pope said.
“I didn’t encounter any issues with anyone in the room,” he said. “There are a lot of people that came up to us and wanted to chat and shake our hands.
“I think a lot of people are very concerned about weaponized government,” he said. “The government response to January 6 was unprecedented. They’ve never gone to that level to track down protesters before. I think there is a lot of concern about an excessive response from government, which is why they had interest in having us come.”
Who attended the event?
Pope was arrested in February 2021 and faced two felony charges and six misdemeanor counts. The government later dropped one felony and two misdemeanors. Among the allegations was that he tried to force open a door inside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office suite.
Pope, who has two master’s degrees, ran for Topeka City Council in 2019 and is working on a doctorate at Kansas State University. Throughout his case, he fought for access to U.S. Capitol Police security videos that he said included footage of undercover Metropolitan Police officers inciting protesters to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6. His jury trial scheduled for December 2024 was delayed, and his rescheduled trial never took place because his case was dismissed by Trump.
William “Billy” Chrestman, of Olathe, who prosecutors alleged was a member of the far-right Proud Boys Kansas City chapter, was arrested in February 2021 and faced multiple felony charges. He was indicted along with five others for conspiring to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Prosecutors alleged that Chrestman, a U.S. Army veteran, threatened to assault a federal law enforcement officer and carried a wooden ax handle while in the Capitol building and on the grounds.
He was held without bond in the D.C. jail and pleaded guilty in October 2023 to obstruction of an official proceeding and threatening a federal officer. He was sentenced in January 2024 to 55 months in prison. Prison records show he was released from custody in October 2024.
Christopher Kuehne, formerly of Olathe, was indicted along with Chrestman and also faced multiple felony charges. Prosecutors said that once inside the Capitol, Kuehne and other Proud Boys acted in concert to obstruct metal barriers that had been deployed to keep the crowd from advancing further into the building.
Kuehne, a U.S. Marine veteran, moved to Arizona in 2022, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in September 2023 to one felony count of obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. He was sentenced in February 2024 to 75 days in prison and 24 months of supervised release, which included 60 days of home detention.
Cale Clayton, of Drexel, was indicted in April 2022. He faced multiple felony charges, accused of struggling with officers and taking a police baton during the melee outside the Capitol.
Clayton pleaded guilty in March 2023 to two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees. He was sentenced in July 2023 to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
Isaac Yoder, of Nevada, who was arrested in August 2021, roamed the Capitol on Jan. 6 dressed in Revolutionary War gear.
Yoder, a locksmith, faced four misdemeanor counts. He turned down an offer by the government to plead guilty to one misdemeanor and requested a bench trial before a judge. Yoder was found guilty on all four misdemeanor counts and sentenced in August 2023 to one year in prison.
Steven and Kimberly Dragoo, of St. Joseph, documented their breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6 — including a photo of Kimberly entering through a broken window. They were arrested in June 2023 on four misdemeanor counts.
Both pleaded guilty in August 2023 to one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, a misdemeanor. The two were sentenced in April 2024 to 14 days in jail and three years’ probation.
Angelo Pacheco, of Kansas City, who prosecutors said spent six seconds inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, was arrested in July 2023 on four misdemeanor counts. Pacheco pleaded guilty in October 2023 to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. He was sentenced in January 2024 to 24 months’ probation with 30 days of home detention.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
